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No. 5 Men's Soccer Opens Pac-10 Defense

Fri., Oct. 12: St. Mary's at Washington, 7 p.m.Sat., Oct. 13: Oregon State at Washington, 7 p.m.Games are held at Husky Soccer Field. The Saturday match versus OSU is a doubleheader with the UW women's soccer team that meets Washington State at 5 p.m.

This WeekThe fifth-ranked Washington men's soccer team (7-1-0), on a five-game win streak, returns home to host a pair of games this weekend. The Huskies meet St. Mary's (5-3-1) of California in a final non-conference match at 7 p.m., Fri., Oct. 12. Next, the Huskies open defense of their Pac-10 championship with the first conference game of the season, versus Oregon State (3-5-1) at 7 p.m., Sat., Oct. 13. The match is a doubleheader with the Husky women's soccer team, which hosts Washington State at 5 p.m. Saturday.

Championship Defense BeginsWashington begins defense of its Pac-10 Conference championship when it hosts Oregon State Saturday night. The Huskies won the inaugural Pac-10 title last year, the first season of men's soccer within the conference. It was the third consecutive conference championship for the soccer team, which won the previous two Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) titles, in 1998 and '99. The Huskies posted a record of 7-1 in Pac-10 action, including an undefeated record on the road. Current senior co-captains Bryn Ritchie and Ben Somoza earned first team all-conference honors while six other Huskies also earned recognition.

Four-for-FourSix players in the Washington senior class are aiming for a perfect four-for-four in conference championships during their collegiate careers. With two MPSF titles and the first-ever Pac-10 championship to their credit, Greg Foisie, Zach Kingsley, Bryn Ritchie, Jake Sagare, Billy Sleeth and Ben Somoza have a chance to make it four in a row with a second Pac-10 title this year. The seventh senior, Trevor Frobose, transferred to UW from the Air Force Academy, and played his first season as a Husky last year. The six fourth-year seniors have also been to the NCAA tournament each of the three previous seasons. Washington is one of nine schools in the nation to have made six consecutive trips to the postseason tournament. Ironically, the Huskies have been knocked out of the tournament in the second round the last two season, each time at the hands of Indiana. The Hoosiers also handed the Huskies their only loss this season, at the adidas Invitational in Portland Sept. 8.

Series HistoryWashington owns a 4-1-1 lead in the series with St. Mary's ... the Huskies and Gaels have not met since 1997, when UW won, 3-0, in California ... UW's record against the Beavers stands at a stellar 21-0-2, including a pair of wins last season, 1-0 in Seattle and 3-0 in Corvallis.

Scheduling News: Washington's games versus UC Santa Barbara (Sept. 14) and at Gonzaga (Sept. 16) were postponed following the tragic events of Sept. 11. The UCSB game has been cancelled while plans to reschedule the Gonzaga match are pending.

King of the HillWith his game-winning goal in overtime at Santa Clara last Friday, senior forward Zach Kingsley (Spokane, Wash./Shadle Park) has four goals in the Huskies' first eight games, far surpassing his scoring output from his first three years at Washington. Kingsley scored three goals as a junior last year after going scoreless in his first two seasons. A move further up the field this year, to forward, up from the attacking midfield spot, has him closer to the goal with more chances to finish opportunities. 'Zach had a great off-season and his confidence is high right now,' says Husky coach Dean Wurzberger. 'He is versatile and most effective in front of the goal. He started the season at midfield but it quickly became clear that he could do the most damage, cause opponents the most problems, in the attacking part of the field. Zach is unpredictable with his dribbling and has a good ability to finish his attacking moves.' Kingsley, an entertaining writer, keeps a weekly soccer diary on www.gohuskies.com. Check out the men's soccer page for the latest 'Quoteth Kingsley' chapter.

Weekend Recap - Washington 1, at Santa Clara 0 (1 OT)Senior Zach Kingsley (Spokane, Wash.) scored the game-winner for the Huskies off an assist from Billy Sleeth (Spokane, Wash.) at the 103:30 mark of the non-conference match. Sleeth sent the ball from depp in the corner all the way across to the far post where Kingsley headed the ball into the back of the net over the head of the SCU keeper. It was a defensive battle the whole night, with just 19 shots between the two teams. Ben Somoza (Edmonds, Wash.) led the way for the Huskies, with four attempts.

According to the Coach: 'Two home games back-to-back will be a challenge for us. Our second opponent, Oregon State, is not playing prior to our game. They will be up here, so will probably watch us play Friday night. They will have a good chance to get a look at us. It's also our conference opener. We feature a team that is going for a fourth consecutive conference championship. Our senior class is aiming at four-for-four, which is an amazing goal to shoot for. We have every intention of doing that and it starts Saturday night. 'We are expecting a large crowd, so that plays in our favor. We respond to a big home crowd, at night games especially. 'But before that, we face a St. Mary's team that comes in here with a winning record. This weekend will test our depth a little bit. I think you'll see some people playing who haven't been playing. With two home games, it's an opportunity to suit up everybody. It's always a delicate balance of trying to put your strongest team on the field, however, also using the opportunity to get some people in the game. It will help us have fresher people in the second game. The more people we can get in Friday, the better off we are on Saturday.'

Season at a GlanceWashington barely caught its breath after a cross country two-win opening weekend in Connecticut when the team traveled three hours south for its second tournament of the season. Fresh off their upset of top-ranked and defending national champion Connecticut, the Huskies met an old nemesis when they faced No. 8 Indiana in the first round of the Portland adidas Invitational, Sept. 8. The Hoosiers kept alive their streak against the Huskies, winning 1-0 on a goal in the 64th minute, to improve the all-time series record to 4-0 over UW. The second round had the Huskies facing No. 16 William & Mary. Three first half goals gave the Huskies the edge they needed as they hung on to win, 3-2, over the Tribe. After a 10-day layoff due to cancelled games, Washington finally played its home opener when it hosted cross town rival Seattle University Sept. 20. The Huskies used two first half goals and one for insurance in the second half to down the visitors, 3-1. Freshman Brett Wiesner and senior Zach Kingsley leads the Huskies with three goals apiece this season. Another freshman, C.J. Klaas, is the leader in shots with 16.

Scouting St. Mary'sThe Gaels are 5-3-1 entering the weekend and are coming off a 4-1 loss at Stanford ... prior to that, they had won four of their last five, with a scoreless tie to UC Irvine in the mix ... Juan Lopez is the leading scorer with four goals and eight points this season ... four of St. Mary's win have been shutouts.

Scouting Oregon StateOregon State should be well rested by the time the team arrives in Seattle as the Beavers have not played a game since Sept. 30 ... after dropping its first four games, including two in double overtime, OSU has won three of its last four ... the win column also has a double overtime game in it, giving the Beavers three this season ... the team is led by Aaron McHardy, with five goals this season ... he and two others are taking the bulk of the shots, with each at 20+ so far.

By the Numbers: Washington has outscored its opponents, 15-7, so far and is outshooting the competition, 140-77 ... the Huskies have also taken 70 corner kicks to opponents 24.

Huskies Against the Best: In its first eight games this season, Washington has already faced four teams ranked in the top 25, including defending national champion and top-ranked Connecticut. The Huskies posted wins over No. 1 UConn (1-0), No. 16 William and Mary (3-2) while suffering the lone loss against No. 8 Indiana. Most recently, they defeated No. 19 Air Force, 2-1, in Seattle, Sept. 30. Year in and year out, Washington's schedule is among the toughest in the nation. This season, the Huskies face six teams that competed in the 2000 NCAA Championships.

Fabulous Frosh: While a seven-player senior class leads the Huskies in their 2001 campaign, a talent-rich freshman class is making an immediate impact. Leading the way is Brett Wiesner (Brookfield, Wisc.), who scored the lone goal in Washington's upset of top-ranked Connecticut Sept. 3. He has started all eight games thus far and is a fixture on the front line. Joining him in the starting lineup is C.J. Klaas of Cherry Valley, Ill., He also wasted little time in his collegiate debut, assisting on Washington's first goal of the season, against FDU. Both Klaas and Wiesner were Parade first team all-America honorees last year. Joe Birklid, a local product out of Buckley, Wash., made his first collegiate start at Santa Clara and is expected to see more playing time in the near future. The freshman class is made up of six players and also includes Johnny Schefter, from the perennial power Solaris Club in Yakima, as well as Casey Armstrong, who played for current Husky assistant Seth Spidahl on FC United. Eric Touton joins the Huskies as a redshirt freshman after transfering from the University of San Francisco.

Back-to-Back-to-Back: A victory at California, along with a UCLA win over Stanford back on Nov. 10 gave Washington the first-ever Pacific-10 Conference men's soccer championship following the 2000 season. While it was the first Pac-10 title for UW, it marks the third consecutive conference championship for the Huskies, who were coming off back-to-back Mountain Pacific Sports Federation titles in 1998 and '99.

Head Coach Dean Wurzberger: As he enters his 10th year at Washington, Dean Wurzberger is set to cap a decade of excellence which has seen him lead the Husky men's soccer program to unprecedented heights. Last year, on the heels of capturing the inaugural Pac-10 Conference championship, Wurzberger's program moved into elite territory, as one of only nine schools in the nation to earn a sixth straight berth to the NCAA Tournament.Since arriving at UW in 1992, Wurzberger has guided the Huskies to seven NCAA appearances in nine years. Washington won the first-ever Pac-10 league title in 2000, a third straight conference title after winning two consecutive MPSF championships.Wurzberger enters his 10th year at the helm of the Husky program with an impressive list of accomplishments. His 2000 squad tore through the initial year of Pac-10 play, posting an undefeated record on the road while recording upsets at perennial powers Stanford and UCLA.